It's Great to Be Alive!

Last updated
It's Great To Be Alive!
Drive-By-Truckers-Its-Great-to-Be-alive-cover.png
Live album by
ReleasedOctober 30, 2015
RecordedNovember 20–22, 2014
Length3:16:13
Label ATO
Producer David Barbe
Drive-By Truckers chronology
English Oceans
(2014)
It's Great To Be Alive!
(2015)
American Band
(2016)

It's Great To Be Alive! is the fourth live album by the Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. Several versions of the album are available on LP, CD and Digital Editions. The album was recorded over a three-night run at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA on November 20, 21 and 22, 2014.

Contents

Overview

2014 marked the 20th anniversary of the Drive-By Truckers, and It's Great to Be Alive! commemorates this anniversary. The album's title is a lyric from the Truckers' song "A World Of Hurt". The album is available as a deluxe set that includes five LPs, three CDs, four small posters, and extensive liner notes. The regular issue includes three CDs.

Track listing

  1. Lookout Mountain – 4:51
  2. Where the Devil Don't Stay – 4:52
  3. Sink Hole – 5:22
  4. Made Up English Oceans – 5:16
  5. The Righteous Path – 5:15
  6. Women Without Whiskey – 4:31
  7. The Living Bubba – 6:24
  8. Primer Coat – 4:19
  9. Mercy Buckets – 5:26
  10. Marry Me – 5:46
  11. Tornadoes – 5:23
  12. Sounds Better in the Song – 5:10
  13. Used to Be a Cop – 6:58
  14. Shit Shots Count – 4:06
  15. Runaway Train – 5:35
  16. A Ghost to Most – 4:57
  17. Goode's Field Road – 7:35
  18. Uncle Frank – 5:13
  19. Putting People on the Moon – 7:17
  20. First Air of Autumn – 3:35
  21. Box of Spiders – 7:47
  22. When the Pin Hits the Shell – 3:57
  23. A World of Hurt – 7:42
  24. Get Downtown – 3:24
  25. Ronnie and Neil – 5:03
  26. Gravity's Gone – 3:35
  27. Pauline Hawkins – 6:26
  28. Birthday Boy – 3:32
  29. Girls Who Smoke – 4:30
  30. Three Dimes Down – 2:53
  31. Hell No, I Ain't Happy – 8:10
  32. Shut Up and Get on the Plane – 5:24
  33. Angels and Fuselage – 7:53
  34. Zip City – 5:15
  35. Grand Canyon – 13:08

This Weekend's the Night: Highlights From It's Great To Be Alive!

Also released was a single-disc or dual-LP release entitled This Weekend's the Night: Highlights From It's Great To Be Alive! featuring selections from It's Great To Be Alive! People who preordered this release were emailed select additional tracks over a three-month period. [1]

Track listing

  1. Lookout Mountain – 4:51
  2. Women Without Whiskey – 4:31
  3. The Righteous Path – 5:15
  4. Birthday Boy – 3:32
  5. Runaway Train – 5:35
  6. Primer Coat – 4:19
  7. Putting People on the Moon – 7:17
  8. A Ghost to Most – 4:57
  9. Goode's Field Road – 7:35
  10. Sounds Better in the Song – 5:10
  11. A World of Hurt – 7:42
  12. Zip City – 7:53
  13. Grand Canyon – 13:08

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Pitchfork Media 8/10 [3]
Blurt Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

It's Great To Be Alive! received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an average score of 88, based on six reviews. [6] Pitchfork Media's Jonathan Bernstein said the album "is the sound of a veteran band in complete command of its back catalog." [3]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 111 on the Billboard 200, [7] selling 5,000 copies in the first week. It has sold 16,000 copies in the United States as of July 2016. [8]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2015)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [9] 111
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [10] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [11] 15

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drive-By Truckers</span> American rock band

Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama. The group also has roots in Richmond, Virginia.

<i>Frampton Comes Alive!</i> 1976 live album by Peter Frampton

Frampton Comes Alive! is the first double live album by English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. Frampton Comes Alive! is one of the best-selling live albums of all time. "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do" were all released as singles; all three reached the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and frequently receive airplay on classic rock radio stations. Following four studio albums with no success and sales, Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for Frampton.

<i>The Dirty South</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

The Dirty South is the fifth album by American rock group Drive-By Truckers, released in 2004. The Dirty South is Drive-By Truckers' second concept album. Like its predecessor, Southern Rock Opera, the album examines the state of the South, and unveils the hypocrisy, irony, and tragedy that continues to exist.

<i>A Blessing and a Curse</i> 2006 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

A Blessing and a Curse is the sixth studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released in 2006. It peaked at #50 on the Billboard 200, which was the highest charting for the band until 2008's follow up, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, which hit #37.

<i>I Wear the Face</i> 1984 studio album by Mr. Mister

I Wear the Face is the debut studio album by American rock band Mr. Mister. It was released on March 27, 1984, by RCA Records. It reached #170 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. It was originally issued with a different cover photograph that was changed after the success of their second RCA album. The lead single from the album, "Hunters of the Night" reached a peak of #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<i>Perception</i> (The Doors album) 2006 box set by the Doors

Perception is a 12-disc box set by American rock band the Doors. The CDs contain the six 1999 remastered versions of the Doors' six studio albums plus DVD-Audio discs containing the 2007 40th anniversary stereo and surround remixes of those albums as well as visual extras. Each album includes extra tracks consisting of previously unreleased session outtakes. Exclusive to the box set is a DVD with several live performances and other extras. The title is derived from Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, which inspired the band's name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Isbell</span> American singer-songwriter

Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell has won six Grammy Awards.

<i>Reach for the Sky</i> (The Allman Brothers Band album) 1980 studio album by The Allman Brothers Band

Reach for the Sky is the seventh studio album by the rock group the Allman Brothers Band, released in 1980. It was the last album to feature drummer Jai Johanny Johanson until his return on the Seven Turns album.

<i>Brighter Than Creations Dark</i> 2008 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the seventh studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. It was released on January 22, 2008 in the United States.

<i>Kiss Alive 35</i> 2008 live album by Kiss

Kiss Alive 35 is a series of 2 CD live albums, each containing a recording of the complete set from a European show on the KISS Alive/35 World Tour from 2008. The second set of recordings from the North American leg of this tour was released in 2009.

<i>The Woodstock Experience</i> 2009 album box set featuring musicians from the 1969 Woodstock Festival

The Woodstock Experience is a box consisting of a set of studio albums and live performances from the 1969 Woodstock Festival by the artists Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, and Johnny Winter. Each set consists of the 1969 studio album by the artist as well as each artist's entire Woodstock performance. The set was released as both a box containing all five artists, and also as individual releases separated by artist, each containing the studio album and live performance of that artist.

<i>Live from Austin, TX</i> (Drive-By Truckers album) 2009 live album by Drive-By Truckers

Live From Austin, TX is the second live album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. It was released as a two disc CD/DVD combo. It was recorded on September 26, 2008, and boasts an almost twelve-minute recording of the song "18 Wheels of Love," which was originally released on their first album Gangstabilly.

<i>The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities</i> 2009 compilation album by Drive-By Truckers

The Fine Print is a compilation album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers. Released in 2009, it consists unreleased material mostly recorded throughout the making of their albums Decoration Day and The Dirty South; a highly prolific period for the band. It features album artwork and a sample of concert posters from 2009 by Wes Freed, and is produced by David Barbe.

<i>Hits Alive</i> 2010 compilation album / Live Album by Brad Paisley

Hits Alive is the first compilation album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. This album contains two CDs of a collection of Paisley's greatest hits spanning his entire career. The first disc contains studio versions, and the second disc contains live versions. It was released on November 2, 2010, on Arista Nashville. It sold 31,000 copies in its first week. As of the chart dated April 16, 2011, the album has sold 235,881 copies in the US.

<i>Two Lanes of Freedom</i> 2013 studio album by Tim McGraw

Two Lanes of Freedom is the twelfth studio album by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released February 5, 2013, as his first album for Big Machine Records following 20 years with Curb Records. He co-produced the album with Byron Gallimore, the producer of his previously released albums. The album includes the singles "Truck Yeah", "One of Those Nights", "Highway Don't Care" with Taylor Swift and "Southern Girl".

<i>English Oceans</i> 2014 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

English Oceans is the tenth studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released on March 4, 2014, by ATO Records. It was produced by long-time collaborator David Barbe and recorded during two weeks in the late spring of 2013. Wes Freed again provided the album's artwork and cover. English Oceans marks the first time the Drive-By Truckers returned to the studio in four years and is one of three records the band has released with two songwriters. It's also the band's first record after bassist Matt Patton officially joined the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runaway June</span> American country music group

Runaway June is an American country music group consisting of Stevie Woodward, Jennifer Wayne, and Natalie Stovall. Wayne co-founded the group in 2015 with Hannah Mulholland and Naomi Cooke. Wayne was a former member of Stealing Angels and had co-written singles for other singers prior to the group's foundation. Signed to BBR Music Group's Wheelhouse imprint in 2015, the group charted two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts prior to their breakthrough hit "Buy My Own Drinks" in 2018. This was the first of three singles from their 2019 studio album Blue Roses. Mulholland quit the group in 2020 and was replaced by Natalie Stovall, former lead singer of Natalie Stovall and the Drive; Cooke quit in 2022 and was replaced by Stevie Woodward.

<i>American Band</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

American Band is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released on September 30, 2016 on ATO Records. Produced by long-time collaborator David Barbe, and recorded in the summer of 2016, it is the first Drive-By Truckers album since 1999's Pizza Deliverance not to feature cover art by their longtime collaborator Wes Freed.

<i>Pacific Northwest 73–74: The Complete Recordings</i> 2018 live album by Grateful Dead

Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains six complete concerts recorded in the Pacific Northwest in 1973 and 1974, on 19 CDs. It was released, in a limited edition of 15,000 copies, on September 7, 2018.

<i>The New OK</i> 2020 studio album by Drive-By Truckers

The New OK is the thirteenth studio album by American southern rock band Drive-By Truckers, released digitally on October 2, 2020 and physically on December 18, 2020 on ATO Records. It consists of outtakes from their previous album The Unraveling, songs dating as far back as 2011, and songs Patterson Hood recorded over the summer of 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon and COVID-19 pandemic. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard's top Americana/Folk Albums chart the week of January 1, 2021.

References

  1. "Drive-By Truckers – It's Great to Be Alive". Drive-By Truckers.
  2. "It's Great To Be Alive! – Drive-By Truckers". Allmusic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Bernstein, Jonathan (October 12, 2015). "Drive-By Truckers: It's Great To Be Alive!". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  4. Zimmerman, Lee. "DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS- It's Great To Be Alive". Blurt Online. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  5. Horowitz, Hal (October 30, 2015). "Drive-By Truckers: It's Great To Be Alive!". American Songwriter . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. "It's Great To Be Alive! Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  7. "Billboard 200". Billboard. November 21, 2015.
  8. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on July 13, 2016.
  9. "Drive-By Truckers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  10. "Drive-By Truckers Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  11. "Drive-By Truckers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.